Friends

I have been missing for a week or more this time, mainly because an old friend has been rather poorly, and last Thursday he died peacefully at home. Harry was a good old friend, and I shall miss him, I used to spend many an hour playing "grumpy old men" and putting the world to rights with him. He had just passed his 83rd birthday, so, as people say, He'd had a "good innings". His son Gareth is preparing an Obituary, which I will publish here in due course.

On a lighter note, this morning I had a pleasant walk with another friend (and of course Jay the autistic Spaniel) we chatted and tried to put the world to rights. In chatting, mainly about the decline of the English language, I remembered a little story which I will relate here.

A businessman arriving in Boston for a convention found that his first evening was free, and he decided to go find a good seafood restaurant that served Scrod, a Massachusetts specialty. Getting into a taxi, he asked the cab driver, "Do you know where I can get Scrod around here?" "Sure," said the cabdriver. "I know a few places... but I can tell you it's not often I hear someone use the third-person pluperfect indicative anymore!"

The Good Life

Lifted our first crop of home grown carrots yesterday afternoon, really quite pleased with the results. We have already had a few lifted to "thin" the row, but noticed one or two getting eaten probably by slugs, and some getting extremely large. I weighed one example at 1lb 2 oz (c 540g)not bad for a single carrot.

The second picture shows the Red Cabbage crop, with baby leeks growing next to them and behind them the celeriac.

All in all, I am pleased with the results for the first year of the raised beds. We have learned a few lessons which will help next year but reading the gardening magazines and books, we should be able to carry on producing some food over the winter, including some salad crops - a few late sown "cut and come again" lettuce can be seen thriving in front of the carrot crop.
The space vacated by the carrots has already been filled with seedlings germinated in a seed tray, of "Durham Early" cabbage, which I am reliably informed give excellent spring Green type crop which can be eaten whenever they look ready.

Ah the good life! I don't suppose Felicity Kendal will come and assist with the weeding!

Deja Vu

Grandson Thomas wearing my Helmet. It almost fits him as well!

It has been a good week in East Lancashire, Had a couple of days work to top up the old Coffers, had a couple of good rides, almost identical to the rides reported a couple of weeks ago. On Thursday I went with Chris and his brother Tony and took them on the same ride as previously reported, via Kettlewell, Coverdale . . . . . . . finishing up in Slaidburn. Tony said that in 17 years of riding Motorbikes, that was the best ride ever! some accolade eh?

Friday I went again with Peter on the Old bikes, this time he went on his beautiful Norton ES2, Just to Slaidburn for a brew and a Scone.

Today I have been on a "Historic Vehicle Cavalcade" Organised by Lancashire Museums, a group of people with Cars ranging from a Model T Ford to E Type Jags and a handfull of motorbikes, my AJS included, travelled from Helmshore Textile museum, to Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham, to Queen street Mill in Burnley and ended up at Townley Hall in Burnley. All fascinating venues, just google any of them for more info, my highlight was the Mill engine at Queen Street Mill steamed up from a Lancashire Boiler. Great day out and met some lovely people in the process

Some of the Bikes on the Heritage Run, A BSA, Two Triumph and a Honda

Weather (or not)

I'm totally fed up with the rain, You would think the Met Office would do something about it. Goodness knows what they actually do on the Air Ministry roof!

It all reminds me of a poem I once knew and still do apparently

The Rain it raineth on the just, and also on the unjust fellah,
But mainly on the just because the unjust steals the just's umbrella.

Somehow, I don't think that was one of Milton's finest.

It is supposedly due to dry up about Wednesday, so I might be able to tidy the Garden, go out on a motorbike or go Fishing without getting saturated.

Just a little picture of a BSA Gold Star DBD34. One of the many bikes on my "Lottery List"